Speed freaks mix it up

FAST 2001, hosted by The Royal Institution of Naval Architects at Southampton University at the beginning of September, featured the usual mix of industry-based research and academic papers. The main emphasis of the conference was obviously speed at sea, whether this was in the form of catamarans, trimarans, or wing-in-ground effect craft. The very nature of these craft makes most of their development commercially sensitive. While most presentations were extremely slick, very little was given away in terms of cutting-edge development. Fast ferry builders are, in particular, having a tough time of it with many believing that the European market is saturated. It was noticeable that there was only one presentation co-authored by a representative of Incat and no presentations from Austal. Many observers recognise these as the leaders in fast craft development and building. A large number of papers focussed on wake wash from high speed vessels. This has proved a problem on a number of routes and has resulted in the imposition of speed limits on vessels as they near ports. A couple of presentations looked at the benefits of using gas as a fuel. Their presenters admitted there is considerable reluctance because of lack experience with these craft. Whether there will be any great jumps in top speed over the next few years is debatable, but what is likely is that there will be pressure to make different types of vessels.